OSBORNE COUNTY, Part 2

OSBORNE CITY.

Osborne City was founded by a colony of Pennsylvanians who located here in
May, 1871. The town company was composed of thirty-five members, W. L. Bear,
President. The plat originally filed January 11, 1873, embraces in the town
site the southeast quarter of southeast quarter of Section 18 and the north
half of southeast quarter of Section 19, Town (sic) 7 south, Range 12
west. Rader's addition was afterward added on the east, Yoxall's on the
north, and Hoffman's on the northwest.

July 1, the postoffice was established here and named Osborne, since which
time the word city has been dropped as part of the name.

H. D. Markley was appointed post-master, he was succeeded by F. Yoxall, who in
turn gave way to R. R. Hays, who was appointed receiver of the Kirwin Land
Office and the Osborne postoffice passed into the hands of C. W. Crampton, the
present incumbent. Early in the year 1873 Walter Jerome was born. He was the
son of the editor of the Times. A note is made of this event as the
lad was presented with a town lot by the Town company, in honor of his being
the first to arrive on the town site through the regular channels.

On the 28th of May, 1873, Judge A. J. Banta, of the fifteenth judicial
district, proclaimed Osborne a city of the third class. The people failed at
that time to organize a city government legally, and on the 21st of December,
1878, Judge Holt again decreed the city a city of the third class and ordered
an election, which resulted in the choice of the following city officers:
Mayor, J. W. Elliott; Councilmen - R. G. Hays, E. Smith, J. M. Morgan, A. Smith,
Z. T. Walrond; Police Judge, A. Anderson; Clerk, F. E. Leebrick; Treasurer, A.
N. Fritchey.

This city is without a regular fire department of any kind. Prairie fires
have been the only phase of the scourge to be dreaded. The second school in
the county was taught in Osborne by Miss Gates, as before referred to. In
1873 the people of Osborne district voted $2,000 in bonds for the erection of
a schoolhouse, which was immediately built of stone. In 1878 $3,000 more
bonds were voted for an addition, and District No. 9 now boasts one of the
most substantial and handsome schoolhouses in the western part of the State.

Among the other public improvements here worthy of note is the iron bridge
across the Solomon, built by Messrs Bolvin & Wise, of Leavenworth, in
consideration of $3,000 bonds of Penn township, issued in 1878, August 10. In
the fall of 1878 considerable excitement prevailed among the men of capital in
reference to a pork-packing establishment at this point. One P. H. Walker, a
man of considerable means, was the leader, but owing to petty jealousies the
scheme was abandoned, much to the regret of many of the most substantial
citizens of Osborne. Mr. Walker is now in Philadelphia.

The school of Osborne City is one of its distinctive features. As heretofore
mentioned the schoolhouse was built in 1873 and added to in 1878 until it is
now capable of accommodating two hundred scholars, who are under the
instruction of four teachers. James H. Whitecotton is principal.

The school board in District No. 9 is composed of C. W. Crampton, Director;
S. B. Farwell, Clerk; and C. Reasoner, Treasurer. School has been held
regularly in this city since Miss Gates taught early in the winter of 1871 and
1872. The school house is of magnesian lime stone, two stories in height and
built in the form of a cross.

CHURCHES AND SOCIETIES.

M. E. Church. - The records of this society in this city show that in
May, 1871, the church was organized. The membership was then very small, but
a pastor was secured in the person of Rev. J. C. Ayers, since deceased. The
present pastor is E. H. Fleisher. The church has a convenient parsonage,
valued at $550. It numbers forty-three members, and the Sabbath-school has an
average attendance of sixty. No house of worship is as yet provided.

Moravian Church. - In June, 1880, this church was organized. It now
numbers a membership of over forty. The pastor who was chiefly instrumental
in bringing about the organization is Charles Steinfort. Rev. Charles
Ricksecker was for a long time pastor, and was succeeded by Rev. H. V. Romiger.
In 1881 a splendid stone church was completed on Washington street, at an
expense of several hundred dollars. The church property is valued at $3,500.
A flourishing Sunday-school of thirty scholars is regularly maintained.

The Presbyterian Church of Osborne was organized October, 1878, with
nineteen members, including five trustees and three elders. This organization
was the result of the missionary labors of Rev. J. M. Batchelder, acting under
the direction of the Solomon Presbytery. He is the present pastor. The
present membership of the church is fifty-one. In the spring of 1882 the
society bought the property known as the "Library Hall," and reconstructed it
into a handsome and commodious church edifice, 30x50 feet in dimensions, and
valued at $1,600. A Sabbath-school is maintained regularly, with an average
attendance of about forty scholars; it has a fine library of over three
hundred volumes.

In connection with this work of Mr. Batchelder, appears the organization of
the church of Covert, in March, 1882, with ten members; also the church of
Kill Creek, in Kill Creek township, at the same date, with eight members.
This latter society has an enthusiastic Sabbath-school of thirty-five members.

In the year 1876, the Rev. H. F. Albright assisted in organizing the
Presbyterian Church of Twelve Mile Creek, now Rose Valley; the original
organization numbered but fourteen members. Mr. Batchelder is their present
pastor, and the church is in a prosperous condition and regularly maintains a
good Union Sunday-school, with an average attendance, both summer and winter,
of forty scholars. This society has a sufficient fund on hand to commence
building a church building which will cost about $900.

Congregational Church - This was the first church of this faith to
organize so far west in the homestead region. On the 26th day of May, 1872,
the First Congregational Church of Osborne was organized with R. R. Hays, D.
Tindal and J. J. Hays as trustees. Rev. Richard B. Foster was the first
pastor, and was chiefly instrumental in building the handsome church building
on the south side of town. He remained with the church as pastor for about
ten years. The present pastor is Rev. Wm. T. Blenkarn. The church roll
contains fifty-five names at present. A Sabbath-school of thirty-five average
attendance has been running for several years. The value of the church
property is about $1,600.

Osborne Lodge No. 185, I. O. O. F. - The Odd Fellows established a lodge
in this city with six charter members on the 21st of March, 1881. The
beginning was small, but now in 1882 the lodge numbers thirty-five members;
has over $300 worth of property, and is officered by the following gentlemen:
Andrew Duffy, N. G.; O. F. Smith, V. G.; J. J. Hays, P. G.; E. B. Garrigues,
Sec.; John A. Fouts, Treas. Since the organization, from six charter members in
1881, the lodge has steadily grown in wealth and members.

O. M. Mitchell Post, No. 69. G. A. R. - This lodge, although one of the
youngest in the city, is one of the strongest. It was organized in June,
1882, by General Mustering Officer W. C. Whitney, of Cawker City. It is now
officered as follows: Commander, C. M. Cunningham; S. V. C., S. B. Farwell;
Officer of the Day, A. Saxey; Chaplain, A. N. Fritchey; Adjutant, L. A.
Linville; Quartermaster, David Ward; Officer of Guard, A. B. Coates. The post
numbers sixty-five strong, and the officers are all provided with uniforms, as
well as the greater majority of the members. This post gives promise of being
the largest and is already one of the most prosperous in this part of the
State.

THE PRESS AND BUSINESS INDUSTRIES.

In January, 1873, J. J. Johnson and F. E. Jerome, then of Beloit, aided by a
small subsidy from the Osborne Town Company, commenced the publication of the
Osborne Times, under the firm name of F. E. Jerome & Co. Mr. Jerome was
sole and exclusive manager and editor, assisted by a staid and verdant devil.
In July the town company assumed charge of the paper, by virtue of a purchase
of Mr. Johnson's interest, and Calvin Reasoner bestrode the editorial tripod.
Mr. Reasoner was a success in the place. The Times then passed into
the hands of John Boring and William Rader, members of the town company.
James H. Bower owned an interest in the paper, and for a brief time assisted
Boring in the editorial management. In November, 1874, the Times died
a natural death, and for two months Osborne City was without a paper. In
January, 1875, the town company effected a sale of their material to F. H.
Barnhart, who commenced the publication of the Osborne Farmer, a
Republican newspaper, which is yet in the field and one of the strong papers
of the State and one of the solid financial institutions of Osborne. Mr.
Barnhart is a native of Chautauqua County, New York, and has been a printer
nearly all his life. His management of the Farmer indicates that as a
business man he is a success. A move is not on foot to publish another paper
at this point.

Columbus Borin came to Osborne in September, 1879, and commenced the
publication of a handsome six-column quarto called the Truth-Teller.
Mr. Borin had been for some time a resident of Nebraska, and, although quite a
young man, had been chosen to represent his county in the State Legislature.
He made the Truth-Teller a respectable rival of the Farmer for
nearly a year, but finally realized that his income was too small for his
newspaper ambition, and he hastily abandoned the field and returned to
Nebraska. He has since returned to Norton county, where he is principal of
the public schools and busily engaged as a student for the ministry.

Osborne is now a solidly built town, many of the business houses being
constructed of magnesiun (sic) limestone, artistically built and an
ornament to any city.

On the river, southeast of the city, E. M. Beach and sons have a large
three-story stone flouring mill, with three run of stone, which makes a good
grade of flour, attends to all custom work, and adds materially to the
business of the town. The mill was erected at a cost of $8,000, in 1879, and
was added to in 1880.

A branch of the Bank of Beloit is in operation here, and has an additional
capital of $25,000, under the management of W. H. Burke. Mr. Burke was one of
the first settlers of Osborne County, having located in Delhi Township, in
1871, with a large herd of cattle. Having business tact and a desire to do
office work, the banking business presented the opportunity, and he availed
himself of the opening at the county seat. He still holds large herds of
cattle at different points in the county, and is also, in connection with
Harry Dobbs, the largest grain buyer in the city. They have a warehouse at
the depot, through which a large part of the surplus grain of the county is
shipped. Charles Wooley also does a banking business at this point, in
connection with a loan and insurance business.

The Lipton House, a four-storied building, is one of the best conducted hotels
in the West, and although Osborne has other hotels, the Lipton, owned and
conducted by the gentleman for whom it is named, is now the leader of all.